, however, that the truth is more complex and that there are other dynamics art work. For one thing, the father seems to be encouraging rather than discouraging the attentions of the young man, though in an unhealthy way. The garden becomes a metaphor for the situation, and the unhealthy nature of this garden mirrors the sickness at the heart of the obsessions of Rappaccini and of his relationship with his daughter. The garden itself is a bed of symbolism that shapes the allegorical nature of the triangle of father-daughter-suitor, though conceived in a new way.
The choice of the southern region of Italy for this story gives the tale a romantic tinge that is elicited in the opening passages by the attitude of old Dame Lisabetta as Giovanni Guasconti arrives to study at the University of Padua. The old woman sees him as a handsome young man and draws his attention to the garden. Gardens often have the connotation of fertility, sexual power, and romance, harking back to the original garden, the Garden of Eden, a fit subject for allegory. Of course, this
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